Yang Luchan
Yang Cheng Fu
Wu Chien Chuan
Erle Montaigue
Yang Taijiquan
The Past
Yang Luchan (1799-1872), the founder of Yang style Taiji learned his craft the hard way. He became a disciple of Chen Chang Xing (1771-1853), studying the famous Chen family martial art, which was then more akin to Shaolin type boxing than Chen Taiji is today
Displaying a real thirst for knowledge, the young Luchan trained so diligently that none of his fellow students could touch him in combat. Later, Liang Fa, a disciple of the late "Dim Mak" master Chang San Feng, befriended Yang Luchan and passed the secrets of the old master on to him. Dim Mak is a deadly art with lightening fast, accurate strikes to sensitive points on the human body, usually resulting in the death of the person on the receiving end.
With his new found knowledge and with much practice, Yang devised his own art of "Haoquan" or "loose boxing" and so armed, earned the name "Yang the Invincible". Yang later married and fathered several children who also became famous boxers, gradually changing and adding to the art of Haoquan. Further changes were also made to the original form by such people as Quan Yu (1834-1902), a student of Yang Luchan, and his son Wu Chien Chuan (1870-1942). This style of Taiji became known as the Wu style and is second only in popularity to Yang style.
The Present
Modern Yang style Taijiquan is the result of changes made to Yang Luchan's original form by his third grandson Yang Cheng Fu (1883-1936), to make the art more accessible to the sickly Chinese public. Cheng Fu removed most of the obvious martial content of his fathers original form, leaving in the hidden Dim Mak strikes, and focussing instead upon the healing properties of the art. This became the most popular and widely practised form of Taiji in the world, and is easily recognized by its slow smooth movements.
Unfortunately most people who practise this form have very little idea of the internal power that can be developed, and the secrets hidden within the movements. Today, most instructors teach the form only as a means of relaxation and as a way to great health, and never take the art to it's ultimate level - fighting. Some practitioners refuse to believe the hard background that was real Taiji and continue with empty, arm waving, dance exercises.
The Future
Yang Luchan's form was never taught to foreigners. In fact very few people knew of the form outside the Yang family. Westerners can now have the opportunity to learn this form thanks to Master Erle Montaigue, who was taught it by his principal Sifu, Chang Yiu Chun. This version of the form is defined by its slow smooth movements, punctuated by fast and sudden explosive power strikes. The slow movements of the form build up internal energy which is then released as Fajing - explosive energy.
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